That's Not So Nice
by sincerelyfantasia
Summary: Britta has some pretty big news that could screw everything up. Looks like she britta'd everything up again. Jeff/Annie, Troy/Britta. Now completed.
1. Chapter 1

"Damn," Britta mutters under her breath. This earns her a glare from a nearby mom. Britta squints at her. "What do you want from me?" she rasps. The mom glares back, shooing her kids on. "People," the blonde scoffs and checks her phone.

"Hey, Britta," her lanky friend greets her cheerfully.

"Hey, Abed," she responds monotonously. "Troy…" she begins warily. He turns his gaze from the sand tiger shark to the petite blonde. "Don't tease the shark."

"Sorry, Britta," he apologizes, stepping closer to them, his face illuminated by the dim blue glow. "The Denver aquarium is one of the nicest aquariums I've ever been to," he comments.

"How many aquariums have you been to?" Abed inquires. Troy begins to count on his fingers. He furrows his brow in concentration. Britta pivots on her heel and begins pacing.

"Where are Jeff and Annie?" she groans. Abed looks back and forth from Britta to Troy with increasing interest.

"What's the matter, Britta?" Abed asks and steps toward her, leaving his best friend deep in thought.

"Nothing," she answers hastily, stopping dead in her tracks. She looks at him with doe eyes. "Why would you think there's something wrong?"

"Because you asked that question," he responds simply. She shifts uncomfortably.

"It's nothing," she fidgets. "I promise," she reacts to his doubtful glare.

"Guys," Troy interrupts. "The Denver aquarium is the only aquarium I've been to," he panics.

"It's a good thing we're on this field trip then," Abed remarks. Troy nods, relieved.

"As long as we get back in time for dinner," a rotund woman quips, approaching the group.

"Shirley!" Britta exclaims. "Have you seen Jeff and Annie?"

"No, I haven't Britta," she lilts. "Why?" her expression shifts to a dark yet concerned one, her tone dropping. "Are they missing together?"

"No, it's nothing like that. They're just taking forever to get here," Britta assures her.

"What do you need them for?" Troy gazes at her suspiciously.

"I forgot to tell them something," she explains. He looks warily at Abed.

"Sure you did," he steps toward her, morphing into his bad cop persona.

"I did," she agrees.

"I'm getting a vibe that you're hiding something, Miss Perry," he lunges.

"Troy, that's enough. Obviously she isn't hiding anything," Abed interjects, stepping between Troy and Britta. "Right, Britta?"

"Of course not," she laughs nervously.

"Of course yes!" Troy howls, earning a few glares from passersby.

"It's nothing," Britta insists. "It's a surprise."

"Oh, that's nice," Shirley smiles.

"It's a surprise? I love surprises!" Troy cheers. Abed makes an obscure reference to a surprise that went awry.

"It's not going to be bad, Abed," Britta swats playfully toward Abed. At least, she hoped it would not be bad. "Look! There's Jeff and Annie!"

"Praise the Lord," Shirley adds soulfully.

"Yes, we're here, sorry we're late," Annie rushes toward the group.

"I'm not," Jeff smirks. Shirley frowns at him warily and Annie shoots him a warning glare. His smirk turns into a crooked yet apologetic smile.

"I have something to tell you guys," Britta informs them. "Could we go somewhere that isn't here?" she pleads.

"Sure, Britta," Annie smiles and follows her into the next exhibit. Jeff trails both of them, leaving the other three behind.

"No, wait, I've been to one other aquarium," Troy states smugly, "the aquarium in Greendale."

"Troy, I don't believe there is an aquarium in Greendale," Shirley informs him sweetly.

"And yet you believe in Jesus," an elderly man interjects. He acknowledges Troy and Abed. "What's up brother? And A-bed."

"Pierce," the three of them chorus. Abed pretends to be interested in the sharks, moving closer to the next exhibit. Troy follows, genuinely interested in the sharks. Abed stops by the door to listen to Britta talking.

"And you're sure?" Jeff panics.

"Yes, of course I'm sure," Britta insists.

"You're sure that it's a maybe?" Annie clarifies.

"That's what I said!" Britta cries.

"This can't be happening…" Jeff shuts down.

"Look what you've done, you broke Jeff!" Britta cries.

"I broke Jeff?" Annie asks incredulously.

"That's what I said!" Britta cries again. "Don't you ever listen?"

"Of course I do!"

"Do you?"

"Who isn't listening now?" Annie mocks her.

"Oh shut up!" Britta hisses. "You are most definitely the one who broke Jeff. You broke Abed. You're good at breaking people."

Abed smirks at Britta's logic and turns to Troy. "Remember when Annie broke my brain?"

"Good times," Troy chuckles.

"I guess it was worth it. Wasn't it?" Abed clarifies.

"Uh, sure, I guess," Troy answers, not really sure what Abed is getting at.

"Britta seems to like you a lot," Abed prods. Troy nodded.

"I sure hope so. I like her a lot. Her hair, her eyes, her voice…" Abed tunes Troy out to listen to Britta and Annie again.

"I'm not broken!" Jeff wails. "Just… shocked. Are we going to tell the others?"

"Yeah, I kind of have to," Britta sighs.

"Shirley is not going to approve," Annie comments.

"Shirley? What about Troy?" Britta's tone softens. "He'll be crushed."

"Troy, crushed?" Jeff scoffs. "What about Annie? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not my problem."

"Isn't it?" Britta poses. Annie bites her lip.

"Is it?" she whines.

"No, it's my mistake," Jeff assures her.

"Mistake?" Britta wails. Jeff cringes at his choice of words.

"How else could you describe it?" he counters.

"You think I'm a mistake?" she pouts.

"Jeff, how could you?" Annie retorts, hugging Britta's shoulders.

"Women," Jeff groans, covering his face with his hands. Abed chuckles lightly.

"You don't think Britta's like that shark, do you?" Troy concludes, interrupting Abed's listening.

"No, of course not. Like you said, she's beautiful, smart, and independent. That shark isn't beautiful," Abed recites. Troy smiles.

"You always know exactly what to say, Abed. How do you do that?" Troy inquires.

"I dunno," he shrugs. "Hey, you hungry?"

"Nah, not really. I just ate a bag of funyuns."

"You know those are just onion flavored rings, not actual onion rings, right?"

"Yeah, I figured that after my third ring," he answers despondently.

"Rings…" Abed whispers.

"What?" Troy asks.

"Nothing," Abed responds as Britta walks by. Troy's eyes widen slightly, and then turn back to the sharks.

"Let's go get some lunch," Britta suggests to the group. "Then I'll tell you my surprise."

"That sounds nice."

* * *

**And there's my first Community fic. It's my favorite show. I hope I did it justice. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shout out to my first reviewer: leopardmonkey. Thanks so much! And here's the next chapter. Enjoy :)**

* * *

"That's not so nice," Shirley comments.

"Thanks for your support, Shirley," Britta scoffs.

"So wait, let me get this straight," Pierce interjects. Everyone at the table groans. "The water filter and the brother from another father-"

"Mother, it's mother," Troy sighs.

"Your mother? She's doing well. Anyway, they're shacking up, right?"

"Who says 'shacking up' anymore?" Annie comments.

"All the cool people. But the water filter and the queer were shacking up earlier and now the water filter's water is gonna break, right?"

"Did that garbage actually make sense to anyone else?" Jeff asks incredulously. The group nods in assent.

"See, I'm not the old and crazy one," Pierce says smugly, pointing at Shirley through his hand.

"Britta, you lied to me," Troy whimpers. "You said it would be a good surprise."

"No, I didn't, I just said it wouldn't be bad," she reminds him.

"Jeff getting you pregnant isn't bad?" he counters.

"Well, a baby is a gift…" Shirley interjects.

"Shirley, I don't think that's what Troy needs to hear right now," Annie cautions her gently. Troy stands abruptly.

"I don't need anyone speaking for me, okay?" he cries before walking away. Britta stands and calls after him. When she receives no response, she hurries after him.

"You see Annie, I was right about them being together," Abed states emotionlessly. She rolls her eyes, somehow adorably.

"Oh, come on Abed. Every good relationship has its tiffs," she chuckles lightly.

"Who says 'tiffs' anymore?" Pierce quips. Annie glares at him.

"Well, Jeffrey, look at what you did," Shirley says angrily.

"Me?" he asks incredulously.

"Jeff?" Annie asks in the same tone.

"Annie, you stay away from him," she warns. "Look at what he has done to poor Britta," she lilts pitifully.

"Look Shirley, Britta is an independent woman. I didn't do anything _to _her. Stop trying to pin the blame on me and make me look like the villain. This isn't the 1950s anymore," he reminds her.

"If it were," Pierce interjects. Annie throws her spoon at him in order to stop him from finishing that sentence.

"I see," she begins shakily. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go, ah, powder my nose," she clearly lies, hurrying off in the opposite direction.

"And then there were four," Abed murmurs under his breath, watching the actions at the table intensely. Pierce sat across from Jeff, the seats on either side of him now empty, as was the seat between Abed and Jeff. The table seemed empty with almost half of the group gone. Pierce stood up and wandered off, leaving the other three to ponder why he left and where he was going. "And then there were three," Abed mutters to himself.

"Are you okay, Annie?" Jeff asks again.

"Of course," she laughs nervously. "Britta's just probably pregnant with what's probably your baby, but yeah, I'm totally fine."

"Annie," Jeff sighs. His voice bears a tone of… compassion? Sympathy? "I'm sorry. I know that this is unexpected. Seems like something unexpected happens every week. But we're a family. Families deal with problems. We're going to make it out of this. Together."

"Yeah," she agrees solemnly.

"Besides," he scoffs. "She probably just britta'd the test results somehow." Annie smirks slightly.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," she excuses herself.

"And then there were two," Abed mumbles, eyeing Jeff cautiously.

"I should go after her, right?" Jeff clarifies. Abed does not reply, knowing that Jeff already knows the right answer. "Right," he follows after Annie.

"And then there was one," he muses. "I wonder what the others are up to," Abed ponders. He glances around the restaurant, trying to see any of his friends. He catches a glimpse of Troy and Britta. Knowing their conversation will probably end up being the most cliché, he decides to eavesdrop on their conversation first anyway. He slowly approaches the two of them, tuning into what they are saying.

"I'm sorry," Britta apologizes, probably for the fourth time.

"You don't have to apologize for your past," Troy assures her. "It's just going to take some getting used to."

"I totally understand that. I couldn't believe it at first either. But there is a possibility that I'm not…" her voice trails off. Abed smirks at Britta's fear of the word 'pregnant.'

"I know," he says somberly. "Do you want to be...?"

"I don't know," she sighs. "Not if it's Jeff's," she laughs light-heartedly. Troy smiles.

"What if it's mine?" he prompts.

"Are we ready for that?" she counters.

"I don't know," he sighs.

Abed steps back, slightly stunned. Is there a possibility that it is Troy's? Abed honestly did not expect that. He knew there was a possibility of it happening someday, but not anytime soon. Not until after graduation. Abed did not what to think about after graduation, though, so he moved on to Shirley, who was on the phone.

"I just don't know what to do," she groaned into the phone. "I'm surrounded by these young people all the time, and I see them making so many mistakes. They could be ruining their entire lives with one of these mistakes. It just worries me," she sighs. "Yeah, I know. But they're my family, and I have to watch out for my family." Abed was already bored with this conversation. It was touching, of course. Shirley was naturally maternal, no surprise there. Abed spots Pierce wandering around the restaurant. Abed approaches him hesitantly.

"Hey, A-bed," Pierce greets him cheerfully.

"Hey, Pierce. What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I thought I saw a-"

"Okay, just checking up on you. I should be going now," Abed interrupts him tonelessly. Pierce nods and smiles slightly, not even noticing he was interrupted because he is so focused on whatever he is doing. Abed moves on to the last pair, Jeff and Annie. On his way to them, he notices that Troy, Britta, and Shirley are back at the table. Pierce begins to make his way over to the table as well.

"What are we, Jeff?" Annie asks him, seemingly choking up.

"I don't know, Annie. Friends, for now, I guess. I just need to see where this whole thing with Britta goes. Not that it's going anywhere romantically," he catches himself. She nods understandingly. "You're pretty amazing, Annie. I don't deserve you."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Jeff," she replies. He smiles a genuine smile.

"I get by," he concludes, holding his hand out to her. "Milady," he offers.

"Milord," she places her hand in his, allowing him to lead her back to the table. They each take their seats. Abed smiles, watching them from a small distance.

"I guess this is always how it is," Abed muses. "Me on the outside, watching. Never really fully participating."

"It's nice, isn't it?" Dean Pelton concurs. "Although, when you do participate, you need to make a good entrance. You have to put a lot of thought into what you wear."

"Or listen for just the right moment. It's the timing."

"Either way, it has to be dean right," Craig concludes.

"Hey, where's Abed?" Abed hears Jeff ask. Abed knows that is his cue.

He walks over to his seat and sits down. "We all good?" he inquires the group. Everyone nods in agreement.

"Sorry about such short notice on the Chang in schedule, but the bus leaves in about an hour," Chang informs them.

"Cool," Abed chirps. "Cool cool cool."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, just clearing something up: this fic does not ship Jeff and Britta. If you are a Jeff and Britta shipper, I'm sorry if that disappoints you. Anyway, enjoy. :)**

* * *

"Hey, Jeff," Britta says into her phone in a hushed tone.

"So, what's going on?" he rushes her.

"I'm good, how are you?" she asks. "Fine, that's great. Wonderful weather we're having isn't it?" she goes on.

"Come on, Britta. I don't exactly have the time or the patience for being polite right now," he informs her.

"I'm in the waiting room now," she tells him.

"I still don't see why you wouldn't let me go with you," he brings up the topic they had argued about for the last couple of days.

"I told you, I am a mature, independent woman, I don't need a man holding my hand through all of this. I intend to raise it alone, I can do it all alone," she explains for probably the fifth time in the past two days.

"By the way, Shirley and Annie want us to stop referring to it as 'it,'" Jeff notifies her.

"Since when do you care about their opinions?" Britta scoffs.

"I don't," he defends.

"You cared enough to tell me," she counters.

"I did not!"

"And you know why? Because you like Annie. Admit it, Jeff, you like her. No, dare I say it, you love her. I didn't know it was possible… the robot learned to love!" Britta giggles excitedly.

"I do not!" Jeff cries. "But anyway," he continues, "I know all that… wait; you intend to raise it alone? So if it's mine, I don't get any say in how it's raised?" he clarifies.

"That's right," she affirms. "Unless for some crazy reason I ask for your advice. If that happens, have Annie slap me because no one in their right mind would ask you how to raise a child." That hurt Jeff, but he could not let Britta know that, or anyone, for that matter.

"I don't want my son running around town proclaiming peace and flower power and all that other crap you believe in," he argues.

"I don't want my daughter to be cold and disconnected from the world like you are," she retorts.

"You won't even let me have him every other weekend so that I can instill some actual knowledge on him?"

"No, you cannot have any custody of her; I don't want you corrupting her with your capitalist, closet-conservative mindset!" Britta fumes.

"I will not hesitate to take you to court if that child is mine," Jeff warns.

"Let's not worry about that. There might not even be a child, and if there is, it probably isn't yours," she tells him smugly.

"What?!" Jeff screams into the phone exasperatedly. Britta flinches at the pure anger in his voice.

"Yeah… it's probably Troy's. But I wanted to tell you and Annie first because Annie's the only real friend I have and I figured you'd have some useful insight on the whole situation. You both just immediately assumed that it was yours and I didn't correct you because I wasn't thinking in the heat of the moment and if Shirley knew it was Troy's she would flip out and kill me and blame it all on me but not at all on Troy because Troy is her innocent, naïve son while I'm the rebellious, experienced, culturally informed-"

"Okay, Britta, you're rambling. So you just totally threw all the progress I had made with Annie off for no reason at all?" Jeff accuses.

"I already explained myself, not that I need to," she answers. "I'm my own person, and I don't care what anyone thinks about me."

"Great, that's just wonderful. We can all go burn our bras later, but I just… I can't talk to you right now. Let me know how the appointment went later, okay?" he finishes.

"Okay," she says despondently. He hangs up. Britta sighs heavily.

"You okay, sweetheart?" the receptionist asks her. Britta shrugs.

"I guess." She really britta'd things this time. Her first mistake was getting pregnant, and she is not even married! Britta shooed those thoughts away. She does not need anyone's help raising a child. Her biggest mistake was indirectly lying about whose baby it was. There was an extremely slight possibility is was Jeff's, but she could feel in her heart that it was Troy's, and that it was a girl. She screwed things up for Jeff and Annie, she infuriated Shirley, she nearly devastated Troy, and who knows how Abed is feeling. Pierce was probably completely unaware of the entire situation.

Britta is lost in a sea of her own mistakes, and she actually does need help getting out of it. There was no way she would ever admit that, though. She is independent. That means she has to do everything alone, right? Just then, she gets a text from someone who reminds her that life is not meant to be spent alone.

_Good luck in there :P –Troy _

Troy smiles slightly at the thought of Britta. He wanted to go down with her, but she clearly wanted to go alone. She usually wants to be alone. Oh well. Abed turns the TV's volume up slightly, eating his cereal silently.

"How do you do that?" Troy asks.

"Do what?" Abed replies, not releasing his gaze from the television.

"Eat so quietly. It's weird," Troy remarks. Abed shrugs.

"I want to hear the TV."

The door of the apartment opens, and Annie enters the room. She slams it behind her.

"Hey, guys," she huffs.

"Shh," Abed shushes her. "It's a new episode of Inspector Spacetime."

"The inspector and Constable Reggie are lost in space _and _time in this episode," Troy adds excitedly.

"Whatever," Annie sighs, stalking into her room.

"Who peed in her cheerios?" Troy grumbles.

"Shh," Abed shushes Troy.

Annie sits in her room, on her bed, her arms folded across her chest. She knows that neither one of her roommates are going to come in to see what is wrong, not with a new Inspector Spacetime episode on. She still hopes that someone will. Annie throws herself back in frustration, sprawling out on the small bed.

"Stupid Shirley," she mumbles. "Stupid Jeff," she moans. "Stupid Britta!" Shirley warned Annie about Jeff repeatedly ever since that stupid fieldtrip to the aquarium.

"He's nothing but trouble," she lilted over and over again. Annie refused to believe it. Jeff was a little rough around the edges, but he was still a really good guy. A guy that Annie loved. There, she admitted it. Annie loved Jeff. So what? So what? Britta, so what. Britta screwed everything up! Yeah, Annie knew that they… you know… every now and then, but that stopped. Apparently, it did not stop her from getting pregnant!

So yeah, they are all stupid. Shirley is stupid because she does not know Jeff or trust Annie. Jeff is stupid for making Annie fall in love with him. Britta is stupid because she britta'd everything up again!

That is when Annie gets a text from Jeff.

_What's up? _

Annie smiles. He thought of her. That is what that text means. He thought of her, and he wanted to talk to her. Maybe things are not so stupid after all. She hears the closing theme to Inspector Spacetime and a knock on her door.

"You okay?" Troy shouts through the door.

"Yeah," she calls back.

"Okay, good," Troy yells. "Hungry?"

"No," she hollers in response.

"Okay, good," Troy chuckles. "What about you, Abed, are you hungry?"

"No, I just ate," Abed reminds him.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I'll order some pizza then," Troy decides.

"I'll go get the dice," Abed says, exiting the room.

All seven members of the group are in separate places, probably for the first time since they truly became a family. Shirley was at home making dinner for her husband and kids, Pierce was in his mansion doing nothing particularly interesting, Annie was in her room texting Jeff, Jeff was in his living room texting Annie, Troy was in the kitchen ordering pizza, Abed was searching for the dice in the dreamatorium, and Britta was coming out of the doctor's office, where she sent a text uniting them all. Why she sent it to everyone, she would never really know, but she did. At the exact same time, they all got this text.

_I'm not pregnant. _

And there was much rejoicing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here's the next chapter. It was a little hard to write, and I think I might end the story here. Regarding Lexlady's review, I laughed so hard when I read it. Yeah, pregnancy… that's a pretty big thing to forget. Hmm. Kinda seems like something Britta would do, right? Meh, not really, hence the summary change. Thanks for pointing that out. I probably should consider a betareader. I'm just too lazy. And to tvlover84, I'm kinda leaving that one up to interpretation. I'm leaning towards this explanation though: Jeff and Annie made the hasty assumption that the baby was Jeff's because they didn't know Britta was sleeping with Troy. In their minds, Jeff was the last person she slept with. Britta didn't correct them because she figured it would be easier, but the baby never actually was Jeff's. And side note: If I do continue, I'll probably be updating less because school is starting back up and I have a show in less than three weeks. Let me know what you think! Enjoy :)**

* * *

And now there is not as much rejoicing.

The group sits around their usual table solemnly. Everything is resolved, right back where things used to be, but apparently Britta has some pretty big news. Last time Britta had big news, it was not what they expected, so everyone is kind of on edge right now. Britta finally enters the room, looking like nothing out of the ordinary is going on; pretending like it is just another day.

"So what's up everybody?" she asks. She is met with dubious and annoyed stares. She swallows. She knows what they want, and yeah, she said she would tell them. She was planning on it, if only to make them happy. She could not bring herself to say it aloud though. She refused to admit it.

"What's up with you, Britta?" Jeff prompts. She avoids everyone's questioning gazes. Annie softens.

"Look guys, let her gather her thoughts, maybe she just isn't ready to talk about it yet. It's been a rough week," she smiles sympathetically at Britta who returns the smile hesitantly.

"I… I…" Britta cannot say anything else. She runs out of the room.

"Someone should go after her," Troy suggests frantically. "Probably a girl. Just in case it's… a… girl problem…" Troy grimaces. Shirley prays that Annie volunteers so she will not have to. Shirley probably will not be able to help Britta's most likely sex-related problem anyway. Then again, Annie is presumably a virgin so Shirley might have more insight on the situation. Shirley opens her mouth to speak, but is drowned out by Annie's loud declaration.

"I'll go!" she chirps. "Be glad to." Annie exits the room with a skip in her step. Jeff watches her leave. Shirley raises a single eyebrow. Why is Jeff watching Annie like a hawk? Why is she so happy?

Happy was not the right word for it. Annie was thrilled. Britta was not pregnant with Jeff's baby, which meant Annie and Jeff could be… well, Annie and Jeff. No, Jeff and Annie. No, Jennie! Annie smiled to herself at their couple name. She knew that Jeff would hate it. They were not official yet, but she could feel they were close. Actually, Britta was not pregnant with any baby which meant no one would have to deal and emotional, swollen, psychotic, and hormonal Britta. Everyone was thrilled by this, except Pierce. He still was unaware of the whole situation. Maybe Abed was not exactly thrilled. Who knows how he felt about anything?

Annie found Britta sitting against the wall in between two bookshelves in the library. She smiled at her compassionately and sat down next to her.

"Hi," Annie nudges her. Britta does not respond. "Are you okay?" Still no response. Annie takes that as a no. "You want to talk about it?" She gets a smirk!

"You're my best friend, Annie," Britta told her. Annie smiles proudly.

"Aw, Britta, you're my best friend too," Annie assures her. Britta smiles back at her, discreetly wiping away a tear. "Why are you crying?" Annie coos.

"I lied to you," she admits.

"I forgive you, whatever it was," Annie promises. Britta shakes her head.

"Don't promise me that yet, I haven't even told you. The baby was never Jeff's. There actually was never a baby, which we know now, but it would've been Troy's. I told you and Jeff because you're the best friend I have and Jeff, well, I don't really know why I told Jeff. You guys just assumed it was Jeff's, and I didn't correct you because I figured it would've been easier that way. I know now that it wasn't. It was selfish of me, and I'm sorry," she explains apologetically. Annie smiles sadly.

"It's okay, really. I probably would've done the same."

"No, you wouldn't have," Britta chuckles. She sighs deeply. "I can't have kids."

"What?" Annie asks.

"Yeah," Britta clarifies solemnly. "I'm sterile."

"I'm sorry."

"I never wanted kids anyway," she resolves. "I mean, that's what men see women as, right? Baby-making machines…" her voice trails off.

"Sure," Annie agrees.

"That's what we're categorized as. That's what society has made us out to be! But we can do anything that a man can, Annie, and we can do it better," Britta concludes.

"Right," she nods.

"But what if I meet someone who wants babies, and I want to have their babies?" Britta shows her vulnerability. Annie purses her lips.

"We could sit here all night going over what ifs, Britta. But the bottom line is you can't have kids of your own. You could adopt if you wanted to," Annie offers.

"What if Troy wants kids of his own," Britta argues. "I wouldn't be able to have them. Then he wouldn't want me," she whimpers, burying her head in her knees. "I don't know why he wanted me in the first place."

"Because you're you," Annie chuckles. "Everything about you is amazing," she insists. Britta rolls her eyes.

"Easy for you to say," she scoffs. Annie smirks.

"It is easy for me to say, because I know you." Jeff comes from around the corner then.

"Britta," he says. She looks up at him warily.

"How much did you hear?"

"Only the tail end of it. Look, not that I care, but you do know that you are better than you think you are, right? You're just designed not to believe it when you hear it from yourself," he reminds her. She smiles a little.

"Thanks, Jeff," she responds quietly.

"Whatever," he grumbles, walking back into the study room.

"Should we go back?" Annie suggests.

"I don't want to talk about it," Britta sighs.

"You don't have to. I could tell them for you," she offers. "Or we could just wait until you're ready." Britta nods.

"Yeah, I think I'll wait," she decides. Annie stands, brushes her hair out of her face, smoothes her clothes, and offers a slender hand out to Britta. The older blonde takes it gingerly, pulling herself up. The two walk back into the room together and take their seats.

"For the last time," Troy is saying when they enter, "Black Widow and Hawkeye are _not _Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. They don't even look similar! So what if both of the girls are gingers?"

"We're not getting into this now," Abed tells him. Troy relents, turning his gaze to Britta. He grins at her sweetly. She smiles back and nods slightly. Jeff looks at Annie expectantly as she sits down and she responds with a smirk. Shirley stares at Jeff with her wide matronly eyes. He ignores her, as he usually does with authoritative figures in his life, but he looks away from Annie.

"Alright," Jeff snaps the group back to reality. "Let's study for the history test."

"No, not yet," Pierce stops everyone. "Alright, now we can study," he tells them. As they study, Dean Pelton watches from the outside.

"They all have it so perfect," he sighs wistfully.

Oh, if only he knew.

* * *

**Alright, I think that's the last chapter. I don't know. What do you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yeah, I'm going to continue this story. I don't know why I thought I'd end it there. I'll blame it on the pills. I also want to thank you for all the constructive criticism but yes, I do know how pregnancy works. Jeff and Britta did not sleep together- Jeff and Annie just assumed it was Jeff's. I'm glad you guys seem to be enjoying it. It's one of my first fics so I'm pretty happy with it. I should probably stop writing chapters at 11 and then not edit it… I put a little more effort into this one, so I hope it turned out well. Thanks for all the support. You guys rock. **

* * *

"Troy," Britta inhales and exhales deeply. "We need to talk," she begins, sitting in the chair next to him.

"What? Why? You aren't breaking up with me, are you?" Troy asks frantically, seemingly on the verge of hyperventilation.

"No, of course I'm not," she assures him soberly. "I just want to talk about our future." Not necessarily here, in public, but she needed to talk to him. Sooner rather than later.

"Oh," he responds. "Okay," he frowns thoughtfully. There is an awkward pause here. Britta wants to go somewhere more private, but she does not want to make a big deal out of it. People will find out eventually and ask her questions. Questions she does not want to answer. She decides against suggesting a change in location. So where does she begin? "Go on," Troy prompts her gently.

"I'm, um, I really like you, Troy," she sighs. Seems as good a place as any.

"I really like you, too, Britta," he beams. She smiles weakly. He probably will not feel that way in about five minutes.

"Do you want kids?" she decides to open up with this question. Probably not a very wise decision, but this is Britta.

"What!? Um, not now, not really… Why, do you want kids?" Troy is now panicking. He thought he was getting dumped, but now she is talking about having kids? What?

"No, no, no!" she laughs at his reaction. "I never really have. It's just, that, I'm…" Britta forces out each word, pausing in between to gather her thoughts. "I, um, I can't…" how could she say this?

"You can't have kids?" Troy finishes her sentence, looking at her earnestly, a tenderness embedded deep in his brown eyes. She softens at his sweet gaze, pursing her lips and shaking her head slowly.

"Hey, that's okay," he shrugs. "I'm really sorry for you," he adds. "I mean, I know you didn't really want kids, but it would've been nice if you changed your mind." Troy and Abed had watched the episode of How I Met Your Mother where Robin thinks she is pregnant with Barney's baby but ends up being sterile the night before. She had said the same thing, so Troy could see where Britta was coming from. Britta would have been a great mom, could still be a great mom someday, and even if she never did become a mom, there is so much in the world she could still do.

"Exactly… and I've come to terms with that. But you don't want kids? I mean, you won't leave me because I'm not… I don't know… I'm purposeless?" she asks. It was true; she was purposeless in a man's eyes, especially a conservative one like Troy, the Jehovah's Witness. How she fell for a Jehovah's Witness was a mystery to her, but she had. She would do anything to keep it this way, too, but he had to know up front that she would never be able to bear him children if that is what he was looking for. Of course it was, he was a man, and she was a woman. Kids were bound to happen under normal circumstances. They were supposed to happen. Wasn't it against most religions to not have kids? Wasn't it against the societal norm Troy had so long subjected himself to?

"Purposeless!" Troy echoes, shocked at the heretic words that just escaped from Britta's mouth. "You aren't purposeless, Britta. You're independent and strong. You're going to change the world," he reminds her. Britta smiles shyly, embarrassed by his compliments. That was her ultimate goal, he knew. The world in her eyes needed changing. She wanted to demolish the gender roles, racism, and judgment that befell anyone who was different. If Troy believed in her, she could believe in herself. "Look, Britta, if we ever did want kids, we could always adopt," he suggests.

"Wouldn't you want a kid of your own?" she counters. She had struggled with that thought lately. She knew that there was the possibility of adopting, but what if she wanted a baby girl with her curly hair and Troy's brown eyes running around her kitchen. What is she saying?! Did she just step out of a sitcom from the 1950s? That is not what she wants! She does not want to be tied down by any child yet, anyway.

"Why would I care about that?" he replies. "Even if he or she was adopted, he or she would still be mine, because I would take care of him… or her."

"That's a good point…" she acknowledges.

"Besides, I don't want kids until after we're married, and I don't want that to happen at least until after graduation," he states. She blushes. Did he mean what he said? That they would be married someday? She liked that thought. That would not be until a long ways off, though. She leans in and kisses him lightly. He kisses her back, wrapping his arms around her tightly. They pull away, and Troy takes her hand in both of his.

"I love you, Britta," he tells her. This act of pure honesty begins a moment of vulnerability for Troy, one that seems to last forever. He examines the conflicting emotions playing across her face. Doubt? Horror? Flattery? He was never one who could easily read people, or read at all for that matter. All he knows is that she is beautiful, and he wants to marry her someday. Fear begins to creep up on him. What if she does not feel the same? What if it is too soon? Troy has never had an actual girlfriend before, especially one as amazing as Britta. His heart starts pounding, sending his pulse racing. The air has been knocked out of him, and he struggles to breathe.

"I love you too, Troy," she replies, tears forming in her eyes. She watches him sigh a breath of relief and smile at her, that smile reserved especially for her. She loves him. She loves that smile. She has never felt so loved before, nor has she ever truly loved before. He kisses her again, igniting a fire inside of her she had never noticed. Her heart soars, her pulse goes flying, and she never wants it to end. Butterflies flap their wings in her stomach hard and fast as Troy pulls away.

"I have a question," Troy declares. She gazes over at him expectantly. "Why did Jeff and Annie assume the baby was his if you guys haven't slept together in, like, a year?" Britta chuckles.

"I have no idea… maybe because neither one of them know how pregnancy works. And because I pulled them aside and told them separately first. But, seriously, did they really think it was Jeff's? I mean, come on, I'd kill myself before that would ever happen," she assures him.

"How does pregnancy work?" Troy asks, clearly lost after that first sentence. Britta giggles softly and shakes her head.

"It doesn't matter."

* * *

**Well, I hope that was good. Maybe I should end it here? I don't know. Let me know if you still want me to go on. If you do, do you want it to end soon or do you want me to carry it on much longer? I'm just wondering. I really can't decide because I don't know how much you guys like it. Thanks again. I really appreciate all the support. **


	6. Chapter 6

**This is easily my favorite chapter. I was so excited to post it because of all your reviews. I hope you guys like it as much as I do. It will answer all your questions. Thank you for sticking to the end, as hard as it may have gotten. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Jeff sits alone in his living room, thinking about the past week and a half. The morning of that fieldtrip was hectic in and of itself, and the entire day went downhill from there.

He woke up to a text from Britta informing him that she was pregnant. He did not care at all, of course. He knew it was her problem, hers and Troy's. He got up to shower and when he got out he had three missed calls from Britta. He sighed and called her back, knowing that this was probably a big deal to her.

"Thank God I finally got a hold of you," she sighed into the phone.

"What do you want, Britta?" he inquired tonelessly as he began to work on his hair. It had to be perfectly screwed up, just like every other day.

"This is going to sound crazy," she began nervously. Jeff could hear noises coming from the other side of the phone. It sounded to him like she was getting breakfast somewhere.

"Doesn't it always?" he scoffed, still working on his hair. He impressed himself because he could do it flawlessly with only one hand.

"So, I might be pregnant…" she said, her tone lowering at the last word. He rolled his eyes.

"So I've heard," he answered dryly.

"And I want to tell everyone it's yours," she finished.

"You say that as if it's painstakingly obvious. It's just absolutely crazy," he remarked. "First off, you're with Troy. That would crush him. Secondly, we haven't even slept together in at least a year, so that wouldn't even be a believable lie. And finally, I would rather die than let that happen."

"I hate it when people shoot me down or judge me before I'm even finished. As if they know," she sneered.

"Then finish," he moaned, making himself coffee.

"No one knows that it's been over a year since we slept together," she reminded him.

"You think they'd believe that we have?" he countered.

"I figured that if they asked, I could tell them we were drunk and it was right before Troy and I officially got together," she answered. Thankfully, no one ever thought to ask. Maybe it would have been better if they had. Since they never did, it was left up to their own imaginations. Who knows what they came up with?

"You've got this all figured out, huh?" he chuckled without humor, pouring the coffee into his only mug and sitting at his dining room table to drink it.

"Yes, I do," she said proudly.

"Could you at least tell me why?" Jeff prompted.

"It'd be easier this way," she attempted to lie.

"Easier?" he echoed skeptically.

"Yeah, I mean, Troy's so young. And sweet. He'd want to be a part of the baby's life; he'd want to help take care of it. It'd ruin his life. He's got his whole life ahead of him. I don't want him to be tied down to me and a baby," Britta explained. That much was true, but it was not the whole truth. Jeff picked up on that very quickly.

"And what else?" he provoked.

"I'm in love with him," she admitted quietly. "And I hate myself for it. I can't be. It's been barely two months. He's just so sweet and kind and caring and perfect… but he's conservative! I know he doesn't feel the same way. If he knew, he'd get scared off. I'm too old for him anyway. It's all moving so fast. I need to end it, but I don't want to hurt him. I figure this way, sure he'll be hurt, but he'll dump me, he won't be tied down to me against his will, and he'll still live a long happy life. As long as he's happy, I'm happy."

"Britta, don't be ridiculous. Just because he doesn't feel the same way yet doesn't mean he never will. You aren't too old for him. Since when do you care about differences? But if this is what you really want, I guess I could go along with it," he decided.

"Thanks, Jeff. I owe you one," she sighed.

"Don't mention it," Jeff grunted. Why was he agreeing to this? It was what she wanted. It was the perfect solution. A way out without really hurting anyone. Except for Annie. Britta had forgotten about Annie.

"What about Annie?" she asked frantically. How could she have forgotten about her best friend?

"What about her?" Jeff replied, sipping his coffee leisurely, already having thought of her. Not a minute goes by without thinking of her.

"Don't you two have a thing?" she clarified.

"Yeah, but it's kind of at a standstill. This might stir things up a little bit. I don't know. I'll figure something out," he assured her. As much as he cared about Annie, things were moving pretty slow. She had changed something in him, aroused his compassionate side. The bottom line was that Jeff saw a friend in need, and he wanted to help. That was thanks to Annie. Before, he would have just blown off Britta's problems. Now, he genuinely wanted to help, no catch.

Britta had that whole day planned out. She was on edge, though. She really did not want to get caught in this lie because she really did not want to explain the truth behind it. Her improvisation impressed Jeff. Everyone bought it, but not everyone liked it. They quickly realized how hurt everyone was, so Britta needed another way to get them out of it. Technically, she never once lied. Annie really did assume that the baby was Jeff's, and Jeff went along with it. Annie assumed this because Britta heavily implied it, of course, but Britta never said so outright.

The phone call at the clinic was premeditated as well. Annie was with Jeff when he made the call, but she was supposedly in the bathroom. Jeff timed it just right and called Britta when he knew Annie would be able to hear. He had the phone on speaker and was making lunch for himself and Annie while she eavesdropped on their conversation in the doorway. She left early under the false pretense that she was not feeling well, which he kind of saw coming. What he did not see coming, though, was that Britta would be sterile. He felt her pain. Stupid compassion.

Then next day when Annie and Britta were both out of the study room, it became an extremely boring place. Jeff stared at the screen of his cell phone, texting no one. Abed and Troy talked about television while Shirley and Pierce sat in utter silence.

"Should someone go check on them?" Shirley lilted. Her exaggerated concern for others always got on Jeff's nerves. She clearly exhibited said concern as false through lilted syllables. No one looked up when she asked. That was because they had literally just left. Not even a minute had passed before she said that. Jeff was bored, though, and he wanted to know what was going on.

"I will," he offered. Annie made him care about others. He was beginning to actually kind of like himself.

"Please hurry, Jeffrey. I'm so worried," she informed him, lilting her syllables again. Jeff discreetly rolled his eyes, rounding the corner out of the study room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Britta's voice.

"I'm sterile." Jeff could not bring himself to move. Obviously, Britta did not want anyone knowing about this. Jeff conveniently showing up at that moment would probably hurt her, so he waited and listened for the right moment. Over the next couple minutes Britta poured out her internal musings about having children. Jeff could tell Annie listened carefully. It was hard not to listen; Britta brought up some interesting points. Some of them killed Jeff, though. Britta was like a sister to him, a sister he never had. Or wanted, but that is beside the point. Hearing her put herself down like that hurt him. He had to do something.

"I don't know why he wanted me in the first place." Jeff heard the tears in Britta's voice.

"Because you're you," Annie chuckled sadly. She was an amazing woman. She knew exactly what to say. "Everything about you is amazing," she insisted.

"Easy for you to say," she scoffed.

"It is easy for me to say, because I know you," Annie assured her. Jeff could tell it was just not getting to Britta. He needed to help. Jeff came from around the bookshelf he was hiding behind then.

"Britta," he caught her attention. She looked up at him warily.

"How much did you hear?" she asked, her voice revealing the fear and vulnerability she tried so hard to conceal.

"Only the tail end of it," he lied. "Look, not that I care," he lied again, "but you do know that you are better than you think you are, right? You're just designed not to believe it when you hear it from yourself," he reminded her truthfully. She smiled a little, thank God.

"Thanks, Jeff," she responded quietly, tears streaming down her face. Annie had tears standing in her eyes as well, but she refused to let them fall. The sadness on their faces tugged at Jeff's heart. He could not stand around and see them this way any longer, or he would cry, too. He did not even want to listen anymore. If he stuck around, he might hear that what he said did not help. By leaving, he could force himself to believe that it did.

"Whatever," he grumbled, walking back into the study room.

"Are they okay?" Shirley inquired as soon as he returned. He had been gone for a while. He nodded.

"Yeah, they're fine. Britta's having some girl troubles. It's nothing important," he lied, turning his attention back to his phone, again texting no one.

Now Jeff sits alone in his living room, thinking about the past week and a half. Things with Annie had come to a standstill, and he needed to stir things up. Not negatively, though. He, Jeff Winger, was going to make a completely uncharacteristic romantic gesture.

"Hello?" Annie chirps into the phone.

"Hey, Annie," Jeff responds. "Will you come outside for a minute?"

Annie walks out of her apartment and down the stairs, an extra skip in her step. Of course, she has no idea what he could possibly want, but she gets to see him, doesn't she? She checks her reflection in a mirror in the lobby, primping her hair one last time.

"How do I look?" she asks the doorman. He nods silently. "Breath?" he nods again. "Pits?" another nod. "Nose?" he gives her one last nod. She smiles, reassured. He opens the door for her and she steps out, looking around innocently for Jeff.

Jeff clears his throat nervously, finally catching her attention. She rests her gaze on him, her jaw dropping as she examines him. Jeff stands there in a black suit and tie, holding a half a dozen roses.

"Annie…" he begins nervously. What if she says no? He will have made a complete fool of himself.

"Yeah, Jeff?" she responds eagerly, stepping closer to him. His heart starts pounding. The air escapes from him. He can't breathe. She is so beautiful; she literally took his breath away.

"Will you go on a date with me?" he finally manages to say. She giggles.

"Of course, Jeff," she beams.

"Oh thank God," he murmurs, handing her the bouquet. He grasps her other hand and leads her to a limo parked behind him.

"What, now?" she laughs.

"Yeah, now," he tells her, opening the door to the car. "Don't worry, you look gorgeous," he assures her. She smiles shyly.

"And you look very handsome in your suit," she returns the compliment, gingerly sitting down. She smoothes out her floral skirt and tugs on the matching blue cardigan. Jeff slides into the seat beside her and smoothly pours her a glass of champagne.

Abed and Troy watch as the limousine pulls away.

"Well, that was slightly out of character," Troy comments.

"You think so?" Abed asks him. Troy nods, still shocked by what happened. "Agree to disagree," Abed shrugs.

"Yeah, sure Abed," Troy is still not processing what just went down.

Later that evening, Annie comes home in a daze. It is clear to Abed that she just got her first kiss from Jeff, possibly her first kiss ever. Abed decides to take a walk as Troy has already gone to bed. He heads toward his favorite street in town, buying a bagel from his favorite bagel shop. This street is his favorite because it reminds him of _Breakfast at Tiffany's_. Yes, of course Abed saw that movie. Although it is not his favorite movie, it is fairly thought-provoking, iconic, and Audrey Hepburn's cover of Moon River was perfect. Abed passes by the specific jewelry store that reminds him of the movie and pauses, gazing up at it. He wonders why someone would want to have breakfast at a jewelry store while eating his bagel. A tree is conveniently behind him, so he decides to lean against it, unwittingly confining himself in the shadows.

Jeff steps out of the jewelry store and tucks the engagement ring in his pocket, humming to himself as he walks up the street back to his house. Jeff knows that asking Annie to marry him now or anytime soon would be crazy. It would probably scare her off. So yeah, he understood where Britta was coming from with the whole 'pretend to be my baby daddy' thing. All Jeff knows is that someday he will propose to Annie, and it will be great.

So, Jeff did learn something from Britta. As much as it shocks him, he has to admit that Britta taught him something. She taught him not to fear commitment. She taught him that things can move too fast without being terrifying. She taught him that honesty is the best policy. Jeff learned a lot from Britta's mistake.

Abed smirks, knowing that the camera is now panning back to his face for his reaction.

"Cool," Abed remarks, heading in the opposite direction of Jeff, back toward his apartment. Rain starts to fall from the sky, a light, cleansing drizzle. "Cool cool cool."


End file.
